Detailed Event Agenda:
To register, please go to http://mwltaxseminarlr.eventbrite.com
7:30 REGISTRATION
8:00 – 8:50 Trav Baxter: Tax Related Topics Affecting Agricultural. This presentation will focus on the identification and understanding of recent tax law changes that impact agriculture, as well as the identification of tax planning elections and objectives for farmers. Included within this presentation will be a review of recent case law, IRS rulings and legislation. This presentation will also include a review of current issues of importance to agricultural producers, including an overview of the 2014 Farm Bill and key provisions thereof.
8:50 – 9:40 Craig Cockrell: The Taxation of Tax-Exempt Entities: Unrelated Business Income, Sales and Use, and Excise Taxation of Non-Profit Organizations. This presentation will explore the often overlooked and complicated rules regarding when “tax-exempt” public charities, private foundations and government entities are subject to federal, state and local tax. The discussion will focus specifically on the federal unrelated business income tax, state sales and use taxes, and private foundation excise taxes.
9:40 – 9:55 BREAK
9:55 – 10:45 Tod Yeslow: Forms, Filings, and Figuring: Reporting Requirements under Code Sections 6055 and 6056. The ACA added Sections 6055 and 6056 to the Internal Revenue Code requiring employers to report the health care coverage offered to full-time employees and their dependents. Section 6055 enforces minimum essential coverage for the individual mandate by requiring employers to report information on Form 6055. Section 6056 enforces employer shared responsibility requirements around the employer mandate. This session walks through the flexibility built into the two mandates, and discusses the requirements necessary to capture, compile, and report the requisite data to comply with the filing requirements.
10:45 – 11:35 Jennifer R. Pierce/Steve Bauman: S Corporation vs. LLC: Picking the Right Pass-Through Entity. While a pass-through is the entity of choice in today’s tax environment, there is a choice. As tax planners, we need to understand the differences between S corporation and LLCs and know which entity is appropriate in a client’s particular situation. This presentation will examine the differences and similarities between S corporations and LLCs and review non-tax and tax considerations affecting choice of entity.
11:35 – 12:20 LUNCH
12:20 – 1:10 Anton L. Janik, Jr./Craig Cockrell: How to Navigate the IRS Collection Waters Without Getting Eaten Alive. The IRS is more understaffed, overwhelmed and inflexible than ever. This environment can lead to lengthy processing delays and little room for negotiation when addressing tax collections issues. This presentation will discuss how to navigate the current IRS Collections programs to get the best results for your clients, as well as cover recent developments in areas such as Offers in Compromise and voluntary disclosures.
1:10 – 2:00 Christopher T. Rogers: Hot Topics 2014! A discussion and analysis of current estate planning topics, including: (i) Portability – reprieve for missed deadlines for decedent’s dying in 2010 – 2013; (ii) Basis Planning – use of powers of appointment to provide basis flexibility; (iii) BIG – built-in gain valuation discounts, as per Estate of Helen P. Richmond; (iv) Net Investment Income Tax – the signification of Frank Aragona Trust v. Commissioner in the “material participation by a trust/trustee” debate; (v) Goodwill – potential dividend and gift of goodwill when shutting down closely held business, under Bross Trucking, Inc.; and (vi) Grantor Trust Sales – recent IRS attacks under Woelbing.
2:00 –2:15 BREAK
2:15 – 3:05 Anton L. Janik, Jr.: When a House is not a Home: Fighting the Arkansas Domicile Laws in Audit and on Appeal. Arkansas state law sets forth a two-part test to determine whether a person is a resident of Arkansas for tax purposes. The Arkansas tax regulations sets forth a three-part test. This presentation will discuss the two tests, and focus upon fighting the application of the third regulatory test, a catch-all used to snare taxpayers, but which is not found in the enacted law.
3:05 – 4:05 Steve Bauman & Jennifer R. Pierce: Conflicts of Interest: Objectivity vs. Loyalty. The rules of professional conduct for both CPAs and attorneys proscribe conflicts of interest. For CPAs, a conflict of interest may impair objectivity. For attorneys, a conflict of interest may impair loyalty. This presentation will review, compare and contrast the conflicts of interest rules to which CPAs and attorneys are bound.
To register, please go to http://mwltaxseminarlr.eventbrite.com